Monday, May 31, 2010
A Pair of Tickets
From all the stories I read from the Norton Fiction book, this one is the one that really touched my heart. The fact this story is a fiction still may have some resemblance with author real life Amy Tan. Like the story she is also born in America and her parents is also Chinese immigrants. The struggle Jing-Mei's mother went through durant war period alone with twin baby girls, showed a gruesome reality in many people lives in a war time. To have to decided to leave her daughters to "be found by a kindhearted person who would care for them... not allowed herself to imagine anything else" must be the hardest decision a mother would have to endure in her whole life time. Having no other choice that is what she end-up doing. Her dream to find her babies alive even many years later never end. Jing-mei carry on her mother's dream to find and meet her sisters when she pass away. The fathers support to accompanied her to China and be there for her encounter with hers sisters was invaluable to her. Her mother looks in her sisters face made her believe that now she knows and can finally understand what it really meant to be Chinese.
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I agree with what you wrote. This story was very emotional!I love how she never gave up on finding her children. I do wish she would have been alive when she saw them again. It would have made the story even more amazing to read about her reaction to seeing her whole family together again. Your right, she didn't understand what it meant to be Chinese until she did see her sisters.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it was very important for Jing-Mei to have her father with her on the trip back to the home-country. I think the emotionalism tied in throughout the story must be a narrative based on Amy Tan’s life; I’m sure, being born in America, that she had a journey to discover her true heritage. I think that it was in the very last paragraph that both the twins and Jing-Mei realize they ARE, collectively, their mother, “Together we look like our mother. Her same eyes, her same mouth, open in surprise to see, at last, her long-cherished wish.”
ReplyDeleteI agree with you all.The story really touched my hear. I felt part of the trip, her fears, and doubts. As an Brazilian immigrant, I try as much as possible to teach my son my culture. I want him to learn about the culture, the language, and everything that I think it is important. Because he also have Brazilian blood in his veins. The Polaroid picture was very helpful in the process of discover herself, and learn about her background. It also helped her to show the similarities among her sisters and her. This is my favorite story since we started our literature class. This is not just a sentimental story, it is also a more realistic story comparing with everyday life.
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